Generally speaking, alligators seldom wander far from home. It's common for a female to spend its entire life within a half-mile of its birthplace. And if displaced for some reason—frustrated homeowners have been known to take such measures—the alligator will usually return to its home. One gator found its way back after being moved 35 miles. Alligators have been documented to live for fifty years or more. As a result, they can become quite enormous. Most of the real monsters—including an alligator captured in 1890 that measured 19 feet, 2 inches—have disappeared, but even in recent times American Alligators measuring 14 feet from head to tail have been found in Florida.
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